MerryGoRound
by Fantasize
Summary: Life is like a merry-go-round. Oneshot, SasuHina.


**Merry-Go-Round**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, nor any of the characters in it._  
_

_Life is like a merry-go-round when you think about it. It is almost always the same. There are the good, the bad, and the terrible. What has happened before will happen again. _

* * *

When the world's coming down on you, you've got nothing to do but sit and wait for it to pass. You can't scream and shout and tear your hair out; it's not fitting to a Hyuuga heiress. It's unbecoming. 

"I want to be stronger," you say.

"That's all well and good, but you have to do it on your own," they reply. "You have no need for these so-called 'friends' of yours."

So there went the only real companions that I ever had.

"But it doesn't do any harm to anyone…" you whisper timidly, hoping they won't catch the weak protest. They hear you all the same.

"It doesn't matter. The Hyuuga heiress is powerful, calm, composed. She has no time to waste on wretched—" here, a disgusted sniff. "—_things_ like these. Gardening isn't going to get you anywhere."

And, whoosh! The only thing I ever did besides train, the only thing I ever did that was slightly out of line…gone before my very eyes. Taken away like a small toy from a toddler, with an imperative "you're too old for this".

* * *

I am Hyuuga Hinata. I am the powerful, calm, composed Hyuuga heiress 

I am none of those things.

I no longer know what I live for, but to live up to the elders' expectations. My father doesn't care anymore. The elders think otherwise. They tell me that if I try hard enough and succeed, I will please my father. He will be able to look at me again.

They tell me I have to be this, I have to do that—just look at Neji, he's already way ahead of you. You can't let a Branch member surpass you, now. It's not right.

I sit here, writing in this old notebook. The covers used to be a light lavender; they've faded to a dirty white by now. I am losing everything that is myself, but I can't do anything about it. It's laughable, really. While everyone is moving on, on, on towards their dreams…I am here, where I have always been. Where I will stay until eternity.

This will be my last entry. The last shred of myself…I'll bury you, somewhere. Underneath what used to be my garden, perhaps? Maybe I'll be able to dig you back up someday.

* * *

Hinata sighed and closed her notebook for the last time. _I guess…this is for the best. No use wallowing in self-pity. After all…if others can be strong…I can be strong about this too. _The dark-haired girl rubbed her eyes, yawned, and stood up, stretching. "I wonder how long I've been here…" 

"Fifteen minutes. Half an hour. Somewhere around there."

Hinata jumped. Unfortunately, she wasn't done stretching yet, so she immediately fell backwards, tripping over a rock in the process.

_Oh, curse it all. _She sat up, gingerly rubbing her head where she'd hit it on the ground. "Sasuke…I thought I told you not to do that anymore."

The boy was leaning against a tree, and shrugged a shoulder carelessly. "I know. But when have I ever listened to you?"

"True."

"Hn."

A short pause—it was an awkward one for the heiress, a natural one for the avenger.

"So…what were you writing in there?"

"Nothing."

"Please. Don't insult my intelligence."

"Nothing of importance…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. As always, Hinata was so low on self-esteem that everything she wrote was, apparently, worthless. Not worthy of being read. He marched over to her and grabbed the notebook, flipping to the last page. There was an audible "eep" from the girl, but Sasuke ignored it, his eyes scanning the lines of neat print.

He finished in a couple minutes; it wasn't that much. Turning, he saw that Hinata was watching him with a nervous expression on her face, as if her secrets were being spread out on the table, and he'd just been examining them. It wasn't that far from the truth.

"And you call this 'nothing of importance'?"

"I…" He was angry. She could only stare guiltily at the ground beneath his feet.

"Look at me, Hinata."

She looked.

"I don't know why you put yourself down so much, or why you let those damned elders control your life, but you need to stop it." She opened her mouth, about to argue, but closed it again. It was true. "You're letting them take everything away from you. You're being weak. You're being a _coward_, Hinata. I thought you'd changed." Cold, harsh words, an unreadable expression—this was the Uchiha Sasuke that everyone knew. This was the Uchiha Sasuke that Hinata despised.

Jumping up, she glared at him furiously. "Who are you to call me a coward?! You're the one who could have dealt with his problems peacefully, and gotten over it, but instead you ran away from them. You ran away from the people who cared about you, and stayed with Orochimaru, of all people! What gives you the _right_ to call me that?"

Hinata stood there, panting.

"Are you quite done yet?"

"…Yes." The anger was short-lived. It came instantly, but was now slowly draining away, leaving her tired.

"Good." With that, he pulled her into a tight hug that lasted what seemed to be mere moments before he stepped away, blushing ever so slightly. "Don't ever do that again."

She blinked a couple of times, breathless and somewhat in shock. "I…do what, Sasuke?"

He went back to his normal self in a matter of minutes. "It's nothing. Nothing of importance," he replied mockingly.

"Hn." Despite the fact that he'd returned to his usual arrogant self, Hinata was happy. She was giddy, although for what reason she couldn't quite grasp.

The two laughed as they always did at the end of a meeting, and one smiled gratefully at the other.

"I'll walk you home."

"No, it's alright." This was the common ritual; he always offered, she always declined.

"No. I'll walk you home." He always was stubborn.

"Fine. Let's go then." She started walking briskly, towards the sunset. He could only look on, with a single thought in his mind. _She's beautiful._ But as usual, he quickly shook the thought away and followed, calling out for her to wait up; _he_ was supposed to be walking _her_ home, not the other way around.

Hinata smiled.

* * *

**A/N:** Another oneshot. I was going to try a story, but...I'm not quite ready for that yet. Anyway, although the plot is completely unoriginal and the characters not portrayed in any special way, I hope you enjoyed it. The title was supposed to tie in with the story in some strange, twisted way, but I don't think I accomplished that...ugh. Thank you very much for reading! All reviews are welcomed and highly appreciated. 


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